BLANCHARDVILLE – Pecatonica’s Molly Hendrickson capped the comeback by plating teammate Erin Kleppe on a grounder to the hole at shortstop as the host Vikings rallied from behind in the bottom of the eighth inning to knock off Black Hawk, 9-8, in an extra-inning Six Rivers East softball game on Monday, April 29.
    It was the second late-inning comeback for Pec against Black Hawk (1-3 overall, 0-3 in SRE) in the last five days as the Vikings scored 13 runs over their final three at-bats to top the Lady Warriors 15-7 in a SRE battle in Gratiot on Thursday, April 25.
    In Monday’s game, the Warriors used a six-run, sixth-inning rally to force extra innings, and then took an 8-7 lead in the top of the eighth on a RBI-single by Brodie Abney.
    The Vikings opened their half of the eighth with a walk by Cora Demler and a single by Kleppe. Michelle Francois, who finished the day going 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI, tied the game at 8-8 with a RBI double and Hendrickson followed with a shot up the middle to bring in Kleppe for the game-winner.
    Abney went 2-for-4 with two RBI for Black Hawk, while Kelly Neuenschwander and Jen Wellnitz each had two hits for the Warriors. Tatum Jackson also ripped a two-run double for the guests.
    In Gratiot last Thursday, things were going pretty well for the Lady Warriors early on as they scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and added a run in the second to grab a 4-0 lead.
    Black Hawk pitcher Abby Schiferl surrendered a pair of runs to the Vikings in the third frame, but she didn’t allow a hit until the fifth when the guests exploded for seven runs on five hits to pull ahead 9-4.
    Francois belted an inside-the-park home run for Pec in the sixth, and Vikings tacked on five more runs in the seventh to pull away for the victory.
    Schiferl helped her own cause by going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and a RBI, but she also took the loss after allowing 15 runs on 10 hits and nine walks with two strikeouts.
    Neuenschwander was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Kassy Paulson was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Brooke Moore also was 2-for-4 with a RBI, and Tessa Cushman had a double and a run for the hosts.
    Black Hawk hosts Barneveld on Thursday, May 2 (5 p.m.), and has away games at Juda/Albany on Tuesday, May 7 (5 p.m.), and a make-up date at Monticello on Wednesday, May 8 (3:45 p.m.).
   
Pecatonica…. 002  071  5 – 15  10  3
Black Hawk… 310  001  2 –   7  12  3
Leading Hitters: Abby Schiferl 3x4, Kelly Neuenschwander 2x4, Kassy Paulson 2x3, Brooke Moore 2x4. 2B- Tessa Cushman, Schiferl, Paulson.
WP- Meyer. LP- Abby Schiferl.
   
Black Hawk… 100  006  01 – 8  11  1
Pecatonica…. 230  200  02 – 9  15  0
Leading Hitters: Kelly Neuenschwander 2x4, Jen Wellnitz 2x4, Brodie Abney 2x4. 2B- Kassy Paulson, Tatum Jackson.
WP- Demler. LP- Abby Schiferl.